Second Chances
by xLaurenmx
Summary: Sequel to my other popular fic 'Back from the Dead'. While Jac and her daughter Amy are enjoying their getaway in Spain, one particular day and a certain proposal, makes Jac realise that deep down it's not what she really wants after all.
1. Chapter 1

5 months later.

"I'm gonna have another dip, you coming in?" Amy asked her mum, who was sunbathing on the sun lounger by the pool.

"Nah, I'll just lie here for a bit," Jac told her, remaining lying on her back, with her eyes behind a huge pair of sunglasses. Amy walked off for another swim in the crystal blue waters.

The hotel was amazing. When they first arrived at Barcelona, they rented a place just for the two of them, but when the summer kicked in, Jac decided to treat Amy and her by staying at a hotel for a couple of days. It was mid-July… and Spain couldn't get any hotter. Temperature was around 35 degrees Celsius all day, if not more. But Jac couldn't complain, she loved the extra tan.

She lied on her back, with her eyes closed, absorbing the sun rays. Although as a doctor she knew perfectly well, the risks of skin cancer. But for that minute, she didn't want to think about health and work. She felt free and young again. This holiday was exactly what she needed, being away from her troubled love-life, her mess of a family… until her thoughts were interrupted.

"Hello Ms Naylor," she heard a voice, approaching her… a male voice, which she thought sounded familiar. She opened her eyes, and lifted her sunglasses a bit to see clearly, who was talking to her.

"No wonder, you gave up your job for this place, you clearly are living the dream, aren't you?" the man said, again, as he sat on her adjacent sun lounger.

"Mr Guy Self… what are you doing here? …and how did you find me anyway?" Jac asked surprised. She never thought she'd see her ex-boss again, let alone by her side, even in Spain.

"I tracked you down… I have my ways, which I wouldn't prefer not to share, and just to stop you wondering, I'm here for a reason, not to share your cocktails…" Guy explained himself.

"which is?" Jac cut to the chase. She was getting all curious now.

"You know I wasn't pleased when I found your resignation letter in my pigeon hole… you could've at least handed it to me in person…" Guy began.

"Just get to the point, why are you here?" Jac interrupted him.

"I got a proposal for you…" Guy said, as he sipped his cocktail.

…

"Jac, Amy! I didn't expect you to be back… today…" Jonny exclaimed as he saw his wife and daughter standing on the doorstep.

"We wanted to surprise you!" Amy exclaimed, as she walked up to him and hugged her dad.

"And you certainly did…" he uttered as they broke away.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit… edgy…" Jac told him, as eyed him from head to toe and noticed his shirt was ruffled and half buttoned. She pushed passed him, making way for them to walk inside, moving her luggage in with her, thinking she had the right to. Technically, it was still her house.

"Ah I'm fine…." Jonny uttered.

"Oh I'm so jet-lagged, I need a rest…" as Jac and Amy walked down the hall and into their open plan living area, but soon stopped talking, surprised by what she saw in front of her. She saw a woman, who Jac assumed was in her late forties, buttoning her shirt. Amy didn't say a thing, she was a bit embarrassed really.

"Who the hell is she? And what is she doing, half-dressed in my house?" Jac asked rudely, turning to Jonny.

"Um, she's a friend… she's a nurse on my ward…" Jonny uttered.

"Right… so I come home to find you sleeping with… a friend, in my house," Jac said sarcastically, "I thought you wanted to make _us_ work!" she raised her voice.

"Jac you left and gave me no hope for 5 months, at least Amy kept contact…I was worried sick, night after night, waiting for you to return, but then I thought, I have a life of my own too!" Jonny raised his voice, as well, both Jac and Jonny forgetting about Amy and his lady friend in the room.

"You disgust me!" Jac said, looking away.

"I disgust you?! I wasn't the one who slept with my ex a couple of months ago" Jonny yelled at Jac, furious.

"I think it's my cue to leave…" the woman told Jonny, as she grabbed her bag to leave.

"You think?!" Jac told her rudely.

"I'm sorry about this…" Jonny told her, then turned to Amy, "Amy could you walk her out please?"

"So this is your big plan, is it? We live under the same roof but having separate bedrooms, you bring in whoever you like and rub it in my face, in my own house?!" Jac was losing it.

"First of all, this is my house too! And second, I had no idea when you were coming back! When I used to ask Amy if you're planning to return, she used to tell me 'mum doesn't know yet' or 'she's not sure' …quite frankly, I started to think you were never returning! Lucy and I… it just happened, she offered a shoulder to cry on and I accepted it, I was vulnerable…" Jonny calmed down a bit.

"Oh so Lucy's the bitch then…" Jac said as she folded her arms.

"Jac!" Jonny yelled again.

"Right, how about we come to a conclusion? I live my life, you live yours…" Jac made it clear to him.

"Would you guys stop it!" Amy yelled at both her parents. Both Jac and Jonny looked at her, she was in tears.

"You are going at it, like two kids! I'm sick and tired of you constantly fighting whenever you see each other's faces, I'm sick of all of this! Mum, no offense but if you hadn't cheated on dad, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Amy raised her voice at Jac.

"Oh I created this mess?!" Jac yelled at her daughter, "if you hadn't gone out with Harry and brought his family into our lives, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"

"No, don't turn this on me! Me and Harry, we were doing well, we had a baby on the way and we were going to make it work… but you know what the problem was? You just couldn't resist Joseph!" Amy wasn't afraid to speak to her mother like that. Jac made a face.

"Dad can't you see? She still loves him! She's been living a lie for twenty years! Even I can see that!" Amy told her father, in tears.

"Amy that's enough!" Jac yelled at her. Jonny didn't know what to say, "go to your room,"

"No, you don't get to tell me what to do, I'm not a little girl, anymore, I know right from wrong… I don't need a happy family around me anymore, quite frankly I think you're better off without each other! And you know what? You either sort this mess out, or keep this up and I move out!" Amy made herself clear, as she stormed out of the room and headed upstairs.

Jac and Jonny looked at each other, but said nothing. Jonny broke the ice.

"So… us… living under one roof, you with no job… I have to ask Jac, why did you decide to return?" Jonny asked her, hoping for a decent reply.

…

With patient files tucked under his arm, Jonny was walking down the corridor heading to Mr Self's office. When he reached the door, he noticed Joseph arrived before him and was about to knock on the door.

"Hi Joseph… before you walk in, do you mind me giving Mr Self, these notes? I just need to hand them in, that's all…" Jonny asked politely. At least Jonny and Joe were acting civil around each other.

"Oh yes sure…" Joe replied, as they both walked into the office. They both saw someone seated in the office chair flipping through some notes, but the back was facing the door… and from the looks of it, it wasn't Mr Self, most importantly, the person didn't seem like a man at all. When this someone noticed people walked in the office, the chair swivelled round and the person revealed himself.

They stood beside each other in front of the desk. To both their surprise, it was the Jac Naylor, sitting right there, behind the desk, before their eyes. Joseph thought he was dreaming. What surprised him mostly was that she was back. Jonny knew she was back, but sitting in the big chair was what surprised him.

"Jac… you're back…" Joe uttered. Jac gave him a small smile.

"What are you doing here? Where is Mr Self?" Jonny asked confused.

"I heard he resigned, but I have no idea about the new boss…" Joe informed him.

"You're looking at her…" Jac said, smiling, as she lay back and sank in her big, comfy chair.

"What?!" they both asked surprised.

"That's right… I'm Holby's new Director of Surgery…" Jac revealed the truth behind her return as she smiled proudly, leaving both men speechless.

_**To be continued...**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Director of Surgery now is it?!" Jonny said, furious. Joe said nothing.

"Yeah… or CEO, whatever you want to call it… now if you don't mind, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, whatever it is you wanted me to see, hand it over and I'll place it on the 'to-read' pile, and close the door behind you," Jac made her speech, seated behind her new desk, in a director-of-surgery kind of tone.

"Ms Naylor, may I have a word, please? …alone…" Jonny asked politely, in a sarcastic way, implying for Joe to leave.

"Take a look at this later then," he told Jac, as he handed her a document, and left the office.

"Whatever it is, make it quick…" Jac told her husband, rummaging through documents on her desk, not looking at him.

"So what exactly happened to Guy Self?" Jonny asked, curiously.

"Mr Self is about 70 something, it's about time he resigned…" Jac answered.

"and he chose you to take over… Really Jac? That's why you came back? How stupid I am to think that you decided to return because you cared about your family…" Jonny began, pacing in front of her desk.

"I do care…" Jac told him, as she looked up at him, then at the notes again.

"Really? you think this is best for your family? working all these hours, when are you going to get to see Amy?" Jonny said, trying not to lose his temper.

"I am going to make it work Jonny, and besides Amy is a big girl now, she doesn't mind me around all the time…" Jac reassured him, when she lifted her head and faced him.

"As always, putting work first… oh and… you said you were going to come back, and start over somewhere outside Holby and this hospital… what happened to that? What happened to us?" Jonny told her, as he leaned over her desk.

"I know, but then this opportunity came up and it was too good to pass, and yes I had to come back working in this hospital but at least I'm away from Darwin, and I'm doing something that I wasn't doing before" Jac defended herself.

"Right, what about your passion? You are going to throw years of surgical experience away, just like that?" Jonny tried to understand why she would give up most of her time in theatre.

"I know this job is mostly paperwork and spread sheets, but I am going to make time for cardiothoracic surgery when I'm needed, I'm not going to let it go…" Jac was willing to make everything work out. Well… at work at least.

"Jonny, trust me, I can handle this, okay? Now... if you don't mind… I'm busy…" Jac ended it.

Jonny stormed out of her office, without telling another word. Jac looked up from her notes, and then at her family photo frame, she placed in front of her on the desk. She tried to make the place hers. She told Jonny she could handle it, but how was she going to handle things at home? How long was she going to keep living in the same house with her husband, living separate lives, in a relationship going nowhere? She had to make a decision. But the question was, what and when?

…

It was around 7pm. Jac tidied her desk, trying to keep it neat and put some of her stuff away in her handbag, getting ready to leave, when the door knocked.

"Come in!" she said in a high tone.

Her office door opened, and revealed Joseph holding two coffee cups in both his hands.

"Joe," she said surprised, as she looked into her bag again.

"I thought I'd buy you a coffee, after your first tough day and all that," Joseph told her, standing in front of her. He was still in scrubs, his shift was not over yet.

"Oh, I wouldn't say no to that," Jac told him, as she walked round the desk and up to him, leading him to the sofa. Joe handed her a cup and sat down beside her.

"Love the shoes," Joe began, noticing her black heels. He took a sip of coffee.

"Ah they're killing me," Jac said as she took them off, with one hand and holding the coffee with the other. She curled her feet up on the sofa and sipped her coffee.

"So… you did come back after all then?" Joseph couldn't wait to speak to her alone.

"Yeah… I've never dreamt of ever being in this position… it's like a dream come true… I had to say yes…" Jac said in between sips.

"Exactly how I remember you… always wanting more… you did make consultant after all then? _Without _the help of my father…" Joseph told her.

"Oh please, don't go there again… I feel bad enough…" Jac didn't want to remember about the Lord Byrne chapter of her life. She couldn't believe how stupid she was thinking at the time.

Joseph tried to change the subject, "So… how are things with Jonny at the moment?" he asked, trying not to sound too curious.

"why are you so interested in my marriage?" Jac answered his question with a question, looking at him.

"Well…. I can't help feel partly responsible for what has happened…" Joe said slowly.

"I don't know what's going to happen yet, we are living under the same roof, but separate bedrooms, until we realise what we want and sort everything out… not to mention, I found him in bed with someone else when I came back…" Jac poured her heart out.

"Really?!" Joe asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's some nurse on his ward, but he said they're just close friends and it just happened… what about you?" Jac said, as she took another sip.

"Well, the divorce will be finalised soon… I got my own place now, and Harry's living with me, Adam with his mum…" joseph said, not very happy about the situation.

"Well you won't blame Harry for choosing to live with you.. Jennifer is not his real mum after all… but are you happy with how things are now?" jac couldn't help to ask, as she emptied her cup.

"Well… partly yes and partly no… Jennifer and I got a bit distant lately, I'm not missing her as much as I thought I would… but on the other hand, I'm sad about the fact I have to live away from my other son… Adam's only turning 17, so since he's still underage, he has to do what mum wants… until he's old enough to decide for himself…" Joseph felt the need to open up about his feelings, as he looked at her.

"It must be hard… but at least, he's not a little kid, he still can come over to your place and see you, or you could meet up somewhere outdoors, he doesn't need his mum's permission 24/7…" Jac tried to comfort him.

"You're right… you know how happy I am, just seeing you again? You filled up the void in my heart you left when you told me you were going to Spain…" he said as he placed his hand on hers. Jac smiled at him.

Jac didn't know what to say. In a way, she too got flutters of joy in her stomach, when she saw Joseph earlier that day, for the first in 5 months. But on the other hand, she felt the same when she saw Jonny.

She was soon back to reality and slid her hand from underneath his and stood up from the couch.

"I should get going," she told him, as she put her shoes on and walked up to the coat hanger and put on her coat.

"Thanks for the coffee by the way," she thanked him.

"No worries… tell me whenever you want another late night coffee…" Joseph told her as he stood up and opened the door. Joe stood in the doorway for a moment and looked her in the eye.

"Thanks," Jac smiled at him. He turned around and left. Jac grabbed her handbag, saw that she didn't leave anything behind, switched off the light and left her office, heading home.

**_Thanks for all your reviews so far! I will update the next chapter soon... more drama to come :)_**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Jac walked into the kitchen, to see Jonny was already there, drinking his coffee, and Amy was sat at the table having cereal. Jonny put his empty mug into the sink, kissed Amy goodbye on her head and walked out of the kitchen without saying anything to Jac.

Jac noticed he didn't make her coffee like he used to do every morning, he didn't wait for her to go with the same car, like they used to. She realised he was serious about living separately.

"Mum, do you want me to make you a coffee?" Amy offered.

"No honey, I'm already late as it is… I'm gonna run, I'll see you tonight, yeah?" she told her, as she kissed her head and left.

…

Jac drove past Joseph and Jonny, who were walking into hospital. They both turned to look when they heard the car braking and coming to a halt. Jac parked her car in the reserved parking space, especially for the hospital's CEO and she had the sign at the front to prove it. She got out, took out her handbag, and file and walked away, smiling proudly.

"Oh sorry!" Jac was going through her phones, when she bumped into Sacha, who just turned away from the café counter. She was lucky he didn't spill coffee all over her blouse.

"Ah there she is! I hear congratulations are in order!" he told her as he gave her a hug.

"Ah thank you," Jac told him, "I can't chit chat I'm afraid, I have a meeting this morning, we're interviewing candidates this afternoon for that consultancy post on Darwin…" she said in quite a hurry.

"Yeah I heard for the need… Here, take mine," he told her as he handed her his coffee cup.

"Oh you're the best!" Jac smiled at him, as she walked away trying to juggle between holding her bag, phone, file and coffee.

…

"it's good to see you are looking better, Spain must have been a blast!" Sarah told Amy.

The best friends lay on Sarah's bed, trying to keep a conversation going, in between looking up stuff on Sarah's laptop.

"Yeah it has been, mum was right, it was exactly what I needed," Amy said.

Sarah took a look at the clock, "so… have you heard from Harry?"

"ever since I left, no… so that has been around 5 months now…" Amy told her.

"You know I really thought you would make the perfect couple, I knew you'd like each other… it's a shame you couldn't make it work out…" Sarah told her. Sarah was Amy's best friends since they were six years old. She was the one who knew Harry first, through a male friend of hers, she was the one who introduced him to Amy.

"I know… I still think about him, you know…" Amy told Sarah, as she faced her.

"Really? do you think you should give it another go?" Sarah's eyes widened at the thought.

"Well… I don't know, it doesn't depend only on me, does it? I don't know what he wants…" Amy said slowly, "anyway I should head home, looks like it's going to rain, and I'm off by walk" she said trying to run away of the topic, as she stood up from the bed and put her coat on.

"Oh come on, don't you want to stay till tea? And if it rains my mum can take you home!" Sarah ran after her down the stairs, looking at her watch.

"No don't worry, I'll walk its fine," Amy said as she opened the front door.

"But!" Sarah ran out after her, when a car pulled over in front of her house. The passenger window rolled down to reveal Harry as the driver.

"Hi Sarah, thought I'd pop over… oh Amy what a surprise to see you back!" Harry exclaimed, in quite a funny tone. He definitely didn't know how to act.

Amy turned around and gave Sarah a face.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do anything…" Sarah said as she lifted her hands in the air.

"Yeah right…" Amy said.

"since you're here, Harry could you drive her home please?" Sarah was willing to try everything to get them to talk again.

"No, I said I'll walk!" Amy said, stubbornly, "bye Sarah…" she said as she took the footpath and started walking. Harry turned on the engine and started driving slowly, at Amy's walking rate and kept talking to her through the window, while keeping an eye on the road as well.

"Amy come on, I could give you a lift home," he began.

"Oh yeah? No I'm good thanks," Amy said, still walking, not looking at him.

"Come on, a storm is coming, it's going to rain soon," Harry persisted, still driving slowly.

"Oh now you care about me? I thought I was the one who wrecked your family!" Amy snapped. But the sound of lightning and thunder was getting closer now, and in a split second, it started raining. Amy lifted her hood up.

"You're still going to walk? The rain is getting heavier…" Harry tried to persuade her to get into the car.

Amy frowned and turned to Harry and talked to him through the window.

"just one ride home, that is all…" she made it clear to him, as she got into the passenger seat next to him.

Harry and Amy didn't say a word during the entire ride, they were almost home. Amy didn't live very far away from Sarah. Harry parked the car. The car wipers weren't coping with the pouring rain. He stopped the engine. Amy was going to get out of the car, but Harry took hold of her hand.

"you don't want to get drenched by the time you get to the front door, do you? Let's talk a bit, please… besides I still have to wait here for a bit, it's not good for the engine…" Harry told her, with his hand still on hers.

Amy lay back in her seat again.

"I missed you, you know," Harry began, "I'm sorry about what I told you, about my parents,"

"Oh now you're sorry," Amy said, not looking at him. They both sat there in Harry's car with the pouring rain, blocking any view on the surrounding windows.

"yeah I really am… I realised, my life sucks without you… now that my parents split up, you're the only one I've got… you're the best thing that ever happened to me…" Harry said, looking at her, as he touched her hand again.

Amy curled her fingers beneath his, she didn't move his hand away.

"Amy I'm begging you for another chance… please," Harry pleaded. The rain wasn't so heavy, it was getting closer to a halt.

Amy didn't say a word. She turned and kissed him on the lips instead. Harry obviously didn't object.

"So I'll take that as a yes, then?" Harry said, as they broke apart. Amy smiled. She couldn't hide it any longer, she wanted him, she missed him.

"You make a terrible actor, by the way… pretending to stop by Sarah's" Amy told him, smiling.

…

They both ran up to the front door of Amy's house, hand in hand. Amy hurriedly searched for her keys in her bag, opened the door, pulling Harry in. She pulled him closer to her, yearning for his kiss. They pushed closed the door, with their bodies speaking one language.

"You're home alone?" Harry asked her out of breath.

"Yep, mum and dad don't get home until late… so that means we have, the whole place to ourselves," she told him smiling, as she took hold of his hand and took him up to her bedroom.

Not letting go of one another, they both fell onto her bed, kissing each other passionately.

"Wait, wait, I don't have anything on me," Harry told her, out of breath. He didn't want to get her pregnant again.

"Right… give me a sec, I'll go check and see if I find something in my parent's bedroom," she said as she got off him.

"I'll be waiting," as he winked at her, before she left the room.

A few minutes later, she returned when she found what she looking for.

"Here you go," as she threw the packet on top of him, and climbed on the bed nect to him.

"your parents still use this stuff?" Harry asked her, smiling.

"shut up," Amy told him as she gave a smile and shut him up with a kiss.

…

"If I could spend the rest of my life, lying in here with you, I will," Harry told Amy, lying on his side, beside her, in the ruffled bed sheets, stroking her arm.

"Don't exaggerate," Amy told him, lying beneath his big, muscled arms. Harry was only twenty years old, but already started to show a broad torso and big masculine body, just like his dad.

"What? You wouldn't?" Harry asked her, surprised.

Amy smiled, "come here you idiot," she said as she kissed him, and he responded. She ruffled his hair with her fingers, and as the moment was going to heat up, both of them broke apart after hearing what they thought sounded like the front door and Jac's voice.

"Amy!" they heard her say. So they were right then.

"Mum's home!" Amy whispered, with suddenly a scared look on her face and Harry still lying on top of her, in her bed.

_**To be continued...**_


	4. Chapter 4

"You said your parents won't be home till late!" Harry whispered.

"I don't know how she's home early, it must be her lunch break or something…" Amy whispered back, as she moved Harry off of her.

"Amy!" the voice was getting closer, Jac must have been walking upstairs.

"You have to hide, she can't see you in here!" Amy whispered, "go hide in my closet, and take your clothes with you!" she told Harry, as she put on a robe. She closed the closet door behind Harry, when her bedroom door opened and Jac walked in.

"Do you know how many times I called out your name?!" Jac snapped.

"I just took a shower…" Amy uttered.

"and what is this mess? Clothes on the floor?! You've never been like this!" Jac snapped at Amy, at seeing the mess of a room, "and you haven't even made your bed since this morning?!" Jac added as she saw the ruffled bed sheets.

"Just get this place tidied up, will you? And I don't want you sitting around all day do nothing!" Jac yelled.

"Yes mum, I will… but what about you? What are you doing here so early?" Amy asked her mum curiously, when suddenly they heard a small noise coming from the closet.

"well this is my house… What was that? Did you hear that?" Jac asked, as she turned around before she left the room.

"What noise? I didn't hear anything!" Amy played along.

"Anyway, I'm on my break, I came back to get my battery charger, my phone died, and I forgot that report I was working on last night, it was lying on my laptop… have you moved it? It's not in the kitchen…" Jac said, as she walked down the hall.

"Oh yes, I put it in the study room, on the desk," Amy followed her into the office.

"Oh here it is… I shall get going then," Jac said as she left the room, walked down the hall and down the stairs, "and try and get some revision done, while I'm gone!" she said halfway.

"Don't worry about me mum…" Amy said, stopping in front of her bedroom door. She rushed into the room as soon as she heard the front door closing, and peeped out of the window to make sure Jac had drove away, to let Harry out.

"you can come out now, the coast is clear!" Amy told him. Harry walked out of the closet.

"Phew! That was close! we were nearly caught out…" Amy said, as Harry got dressed.

"You know, sooner or later we are going to have to tell her, we can't hide it…" Harry said, as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I know, but I think it's best if we wait for things to settle down between my parents first…" she told him, as she laid her hands on his broad chest.

"I understand… you know it's a shame our afternoon got interrupted…" he told her, lowering his voice and leaning in, towards her lips, but she lifted her finger up to stop his lips.

"Ah, no. We had enough for one day, you heard what mum said, I have revision to do, and you should be home studying too…" Amy told him.

"I'll see you…" Harry told her as he gave her a quick kiss and left her embrace.

…

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to deal with an emergency…" Jac told the figure, seated in front of her desk, as she walked into her office.

"Right, I have called you back to let you know, we think you are the perfect fit for the job, you have an outstanding CV, the board and I decided there's no reason not to hand you the consultant post, so… welcome aboard Valentine…" she said smiling, as she stood up and shook her former colleague's hand.

"It's nice to see you again Ms Naylor… and wow you're CEO now…" Oliver Valentine told his former colleague and mentor.

"Well, a lot of things changed in your absence," Jac noted, "Come on, let's show you the office on Darwin," she said as she stood up, with Oliver following.

…

"So, what happened to you after I left? You were pregnant right?" Oliver said, walking down the hall with Jac, heading to Darwin.

"Yes I had a baby girl, she is eighteen now... it was a bit tough, she had CDH…" Jac said, slowly.

"Oh I'm sorry to bring it up… and what about Jonny?" Oliver asked, walking by her side.

"well we got married two years later, and have been together ever since…" Jac tried to paint the pretty picture but there was so much more to tell.

"Really?! that's amazing!" Oliver exclaimed, "to be honest I wasn't sure, you two would last that long!"

"well, we are on a bit of a break currently… I'm not sure what's going to happen…" Jac wasn't proud of the truth.

"oh I'm sorry to hear that… I'm sure you'll find a way to work it out…" Oliver said slowly. Jac said nothing. She pushed open the doors on Darwin ward and walked through.

"Oh how I miss this place!" Oliver exclaimed, "what happened to Mr Hope by the way?" he asked as they stopped in front of Jac's former office.

"He retired… it was quite sad to see him go actually…" Jac told him.

"Oh so I'm taking his place?" Oliver asked confused.

"No, you're taking my place… his place is already taken…" Jac didn't want to reveal all at one go.

"by who?" Oliver asked again.

"see for yourself…" Jac told him as she opened the office door. Oliver walked inside and was more than surprised to see Joseph seated behind, what used to be Elliot's desk.

"Oh my god, Mr Byrne, you're back!" Oliver exclaimed.

"I can see you are too…" Joe said surprised.

"Yes, he's Darwin's new consultant…" Jac explained, as Oliver sat in what used to be Jac's chair.

"Oh and here you go," Jac told Joseph as she handed him a white envelope, "it's the invite for the upcoming Consultant's Dinner."

"I'll leave you to settle in…." she told Oliver, before she left.

She left the office and walked up to the nurses' station, to find Mo sitting at one of the computers, frowning.

"Is something wrong?" Jac asked her. She could notice all the staff in the vicinity, were acting more professional than usual, just because the CEO was in the ward.

"the paperwork is a mess around here… and not to mention, we are short staffed, with Nurse Jones on maternity leave and Nurse Adams called in sick this morning," Mo frowned, "you need to do something about the situation around here,"

"well.. I'll see what I can do…" Jac said, as she turned and walked away to leave the ward.

…

"Amy! I'm back!" Jac called her daughter as she walked down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Where's dad?" she told Amy, who was seated at the kitchen table.

"He's having a shower… he cooked, I think there is some left for you… he didn't completely forget about you at least…" Amy muttered.

"Oh… right…" Jac uttered as she took out a plate and served herself dinner.

"Mum, what's going to happen to you guys? You can't keep living like this…" Amy said slowly, as she put her fork down.

"I don't know… I don't even know what feels right… you were right, I do love Joe, and a part of me wants him, but leaving your dad doesn't feel like the best option either so… I need more time to figure it out…" Jac said, before she started eating.

"Oh by the way, I got you a job…" Jac said in between mouthfuls, "you don't have any excuses to sitting around doing nothing all day long,"

"What? What is it?" Amy asked, she certainly wasn't expecting she would start working.

"It's like an assistant, answering desk phones, sorting out paperwork, on Darwin, the ward I used to work on before," Jac explained.

"But, what about my revision?" Amy asked, she wasn't completely happy about the idea.

"It's only for a couple of weeks until you get back into college…" Jac said.

Jonny walked into the kitchen, and poured himself a glass of water.

"Hey…" he uttered.

"Listen so you won't say I don't do anything for you… what do you think about being Clinical Nurse Manager on Darwin again?" Jac asked Jonny.

"You can transfer me back? To be honest, Keller doesn't feel like home…" Jonny's face lit up at the thought of a transfer. He wasn't exactly happy on Keller, even though he was the one who asked for it, in the first place.

"Well there's a nurse on Darwin, currently on maternity leave, you can take her place temporarily, then we'll arrange something else…" Jac explained.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Jonny told her, as he placed his hand on hers for a second. He left the kitchen, and Amy smiled at her mum.

"What?" Jac asked her daughter.

"Nothing," Amy replied, smiling.

_**Next time: it's Jonny, Amy, Oliver's first day on Darwin, plus there's the Consultants' Dinner, so the drama is yet to come! I will update soon. Thanks for your reviews.**_


	5. Chapter 5

"Right, now that everyone's here… we are introducing new staff on this ward today, we have Jonny Maconie back with us filling in Nurse Jones's absence and Amy Naylor Maconie is our new paper work assistant. Last but not least, let's give a warm welcome to our new consultant Dr Oliver Valentine, and four 3rd year med students who will be assigned to a consultant for shadowing. Should anyone have any queries, do not hesitate to seek assistance from any member of staff, I'm sure that everyone will be more than happy to help one another somehow… Thank you… Carry on…"

As soon as CEO Jac Naylor finished her speech, everyone surrounding the nurses' station on Darwin, left to get back to work, with Joseph, Oliver, Mo and the students remaining.

"Right, you four," Jac added, addressing the students, "you two will be shadowing Mr Byrne," she said pointing at two of them, "and you two with Ms Effanga," she told the other two, one of them being Harry Byrne.

"I didn't assign any students in addition to your work load, I think it's best if you get more into the job first," Jac told Dr Valentine.

"Right, Mr Byrne, can I have a word please? My office?" Jac asked Joseph.

…

"I had no idea, I was going to see you here…" Harry whispered to Amy, who had already started sorting patient files, which Jonny explained how.

"Me neither…" she whispered back, avoiding eye contact, "look while we're here, we'll keep it as professional as possible okay?" she added.

"Oi! Byrne boy! Listen up, do you want to observe the master at work?" Mo called out Harry, holding a patient file.

"Yeah sure," Harry uttered.

"Get a move on then, bed 8 please…" Mo told him, as she eyed both of them. Harry left Amy's side and walked after Mo.

…

"How come you didn't tell me, Harry was going to start his observation on Darwin today?" Jac asked Joseph as they walked down the corridor, heading to her office.

"I knew the students were starting today, but it was only this morning that I got the email with their names…" she added, "oh and by the way, I didn't assign Harry to you as his mentor, you know because of nepotism and all that…"

"Yeah well, I don't get much time talking to you lately, and besides what difference does it make to you?" Joe asked.

"Well it doesn't to me," she replied, as she opened her office door, and walked in with Joseph following, "but it does to Amy. If I'd known, I wouldn't have given her the job,"

"Why?" Joseph asked, as he stood in front of her desk, and she sat down.

"You know why… the death of their baby, the break up… it was all too hard for her, you think working around him all day helps the situation?" Jac explained to him.

"You don't think it was hard for him too?" Joseph defended his son, "Jac it's been months now… they will get through this, on their own terms…" he added.

"Let's just hope this doesn't make things worse…." Jac sighed, unaware of the fact that both Harry and Amy were actually happy about the fact they will be seeing each other all day long.

The conversation was interrupted with a knock at the door.

"Come in," Jac called out. The door opened and Jonny walked in.

"I have to get back to my patients," Joe said as Jonny let the door open for Joe to leave, and closed it shut behind him.

Jac looked up at Jonny, then down at her notes again, "How is Amy doing?" she asked.

"Great, she caught up pretty well actually…" he answered.

"That's my girl…" Jac commented, flipping through her pages, "did you want anything?"

"Ah, this is Mo's patient echo scans, 35 year old female with an aortic stenosis, she's booking her in for a valve replacement, but needs a second opinion, she thinks the open procedure is the best way out, care to take a look?" he explained to her, handing her the tablet, showing her the scan.

"Mm.." Jac muttered, observing the scan, "well I'd go for an upper sternotomy... less need for blood transfusion, shorter stay in hospital…. But it's her call…" she told him, handing back the tablet.

Jac looked up from her notes, when she saw Jonny was still standing there, "anything else?" she said giving him a weird look.

"So… this consultant's dinner tonight…" he began, looking at her dress hanging on the coat hanger in its protective cover slip, "Are… you taking a… plus one?" he asked curiously.

"No… well… I asked Mo, but she said she has other plans with Mr T tonight, which I don't care to know about…" Jac explained.

"What about Oliver?" he asked again.

"No, he isn't coming, he's the on call doctor tonight on Darwin so…" Jac added. She stopped and looked up to him, "I would take you… but it extends to surgeons only, I'm afraid…" she added, slowly.

"Right… is Joseph going?" Jonny asked, slowly. He couldn't believe he was married to this woman, yet in their conversations they felt so distant.

"Well he is a consultant isn't he?" Jac replied, looking down at her notes.

"Right…" Jonny didn't know if he should feel threatened, "I better get these back to Mo… thank you" he said as he left her office. Jac looked up, put her pen down and stared into space for a minute.

She truly felt sorry for Jonny, but she still wasn't sure if getting back together with him was the right thing to do. Something inside her was telling her it was wrong to keep living apart, yet it felt so right.

She put her thoughts on hold for a second, and grabbed her phone receiver, "Hi, could I get a cab around Holby City Hospital please? Around 7.30?" she said through the phone.

…

Jac added the final touches to her make-up, and put her golden heels on. She looked fabulous in a bronze, floor-length dress, with her complementary gold clutch. She was taking one last look in the mirror, she had on the wall of her office, right after the meeting table, when the door knocked.

"Come in!" she called out.

The door opened to reveal Joseph in a tuxedo, and bow tie, "are you…" but he soon stopped his question.

"Wow," he uttered, as Jac turned around to face him, "you look… stunning…" he added as he stood in the doorway, not closing the door, resting his hand on the door knob.

"We don't want to keep the cab waiting…. Shall we go?" Jac said, as she walked up towards the door.

"After you," Joseph said, as he made way for her to pass through the door.

"Oh and…" Jac said, as she turned to face him, "don't forget your tongue…" she said, as she smiled, teasingly, all because Joseph couldn't stop staring at her, and walked down the corridor. Joe closed her office door, and eyed her behind, before he followed her.

…

Jonny made his way up to Darwin, holding a coffee, using the stairs. He sometimes avoided the lift, he believed a few extra steps won't kill you once a while. He happened to look outside the glass, and looked again, closely. He could easily notice Joseph holding the cab door open for Jac, as she got in, outside the hospital's main entrance, and Joseph after her. He rested on the stair rails, watching the cab drive off.

He didn't know what to think or what to feel. Jac was still his wife. Even though they were separated while living under the same roof, he still felt sad seeing her in the cab with her ex. Really it was just work, it wasn't like they were going on a date or something… so the real question was, why was he worried?

_**To be continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

As they arrived and got out of the cab, Jac and Joe walked up the stairs to the front door, and handed the invite to the man at the door, "Jac Naylor, Holby's CEO… don't worry I'm definitely on the list," she told him as she smiled at him. Joseph did the same.

Jac helped herself with a glass of champagne, off the waiter's tray, who was standing at the door to the main hall, "don't mind if I do," she said, smiling at Joseph.

…

"Stone the crows! If it isnt _the _very Joseph Byrne!" a gentleman around Jac and Joe's age, exclaimed as he approached them, standing together, not socialising yet.

"Oh hi Dr Jackson, haven't seen you in a while…" Joseph told him, as they shook hands.

"Jac, this is Dr Jackson from St James'…" Joseph introduced Jac to his former colleague. All consultants and guests were in the main hall, enjoying champagne and pre dinner drinks.

"Hi, Jac Naylor, CEO… Holby City Hospital…" Jac introduced herself as she shook hands with the gentleman.

"Oh hi Jac, CEO now is it? Impressive…" he told her smiling.

"Um, do I know you?" Jac asked him, not recognising who she was talking too.

"I'm Paul Jackson, CT consultant? …is that ringing a bell?" he added. Joseph just stood there, holding his glass of champagne, staring at them both.

"Oh! You're _that _Dr Jackson! Now I remember you!" she exclaimed, then turned to Joseph, "we worked together, they sent me over to St James' for a day once, they were short staffed…" she told Joe, as she took a sip of champagne.

"and oh my, isn't she a beauty, when it comes to surgery? …well who am I kidding? Not only surgery… I mean, look at her tonight…" he told Joe, smiling at Jac, "may I say, Joe, you have an exquisite taste in women…"

"ah no… she's not my plus one I'm afraid…" Joseph said, slowly.

"ah right… so you're not together then?..." Paul added.

"No. we were an item once though…" Jac told Paul, looking at Joseph, and smiled at him.

"and today you are?..." Paul attempted to hit on Jac.

"married…" Jac replied, as she showed off her wedding and engagement ring on her left finger. Although she didn't quite feel comfortable showing it off, she wasn't really acting as a married woman lately.

"That's a shame… well what can I say? Your husband is one lucky guy…" Paul Jackson replied, smiling, not taking his eyes off Jac. Joseph rolled his eyes at his words, and soon jumped in on the conversation to change the subject.

"Listen I think, it's better if we are seated, the dinner is about to start…" he told Dr Jackson, "nice talking to you, Paul…" he told him, as he held Jac by the waist and steered away into the dining room.

…

"Oh my god, that Paul is so nice!" Jac exclaimed, with a smile on her face, as she and Joseph left the dining room after dinner and approached the bar. Yes, Paul had to be seated exactly in front of them throughout the whole dinner, and Joseph had to put up with his flirting and stupid comments all night.

"Jac what are you doing?" Joe asked her, when he realised Jac wasn't making her way up to the lifts, but sat down on a bar stool instead, "I thought we were going up to our rooms, I think you had enough to drink for one night…" he told her. Jac was already a bit tipsy.

"Oh come on Joseph," she told him, as she handed him a glass of red wine, "just one more drink…" Joseph sat beside her.

"Let's make a toast…" she told Joseph, as she raised her glass, Joseph played along, "to us…" Joe widened his eyes at Jac's words, "To our messed up, complicated, relationship, we started 30 years ago… cheers!" she told him, in between pauses, as they knocked glasses and she took a sip. Joe said nothing.

"In fact…" Jac added, as a waiter passed by and took a wine bottle off his tray, "why have one glass, when we can have a whole bottle, aye?" she told him, as she poured him more wine. He didn't want more wine, and thought that she certainly shouldn't have anymore. But he was even more amazed when instead of pouring some more into her glass, she started pouring the whole bottle in her mouth.

"Okay, Jac that's enough…" Joe told her as he took the bottle from her hands, and tried to get her up on her feet.

"Oh come on, let's have the night of our lives! We only live once, right?" Jac told him, as she stood up on her two feet.

"Exactly, we only live once…. which is why we can't drink too much…" Joe told her as they made their way to the lifts, Jac grabbing hold of Joseph's arm, she had no balance to walk on her own.

"Who cares about life and health? I'm sick and tired of all this doctor stuff, 'eat this' and 'don't eat that' … I mean we're all going to die someday, so what's all the fuss about?" Jac started blabbing, as they entered the lift.

"It's official, Jac, you're drunk…" Joseph muttered.

…

"Come on…" Joseph had to literally drag Jac out of the lift, and hold her by the arm to her room.

"Where's your key?" Joseph asked her, as he reached her door.

"I thought you had it," Jac told him. Joseph started looking in his pockets, even though he was certain, they were holding their own keys.

"Oh look, here it is!" Jac said, with a giggle, taking it out of her clutch bag and swaying it in front of Joe's face.

Joe tried to keep patient, as he took the key from her hands and opened the door to let Jac in. He walked in after her.

Jac threw herself onto the bed, and threw her shoes to the ground. She stood up and started to unzip her dress, not even caring Joseph was still standing there.

Joseph, feeling a bit awkward, thought it's his cue to leave, and now that she was safe in her room, he should leave her to it, "right, my room is next door, if you need anything…"

"No wait!" she told him, as she turned around and grabbed him by the arm, "don't go… stay the night with me… please…" she begged him, as she turned him around to face her, holding him from his loose bow tie, tracing her fingers down his shirt buttons.

"Right," Joseph began as he slid her hands off of him, "you know that's wrong… do you think Jonny will be happy if he found out?" he asked her.

"Oh!" Jac said furiously, as she took a step back, "it doesn't matter, we are on a break… I mean, who cares about marriage? …and family?" she told him, as she took off her wedding and engagement rings and threw them on the dresser.

"I mean, I didn't need a baby and a husband… I was fine, single, on my own right?" Jac started blabbing again.

"Jac you don't know what you're saying… you love your daughter and your family…" Joe told her, standing in front of her.

"Yes but, I have that now, because you left me, Joe it took me a lot of time to realise I am over you, but the truth is, I'm not…" she told him, half dressed, as she walked up to him, and threw her hands around his neck, "we have this one chance Joe, let's not waist any more time… just kiss me…" she said slowly.

Their faces were centimetres apart. Jac leaned in, their lips almost brushing against each other. Joseph could feel her breathing on him, deep down he knew she was right. He couldn't resist her any longer. He kissed her, as he wrapped his arms around her, sliding up and down on her back, sliding down her dress off her body. Jac responded passionately, unbuttoning his shirt.

As one thing led to another, they ended up in bed, beneath the white bed sheets. Feeling his body against hers, feeling him make love to her, made Jac feel exactly like it felt 30 years ago, like their very first time. The chemistry was still there. They both felt young again.

…

Early the next morning, Joseph still asleep turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Jac's waist when he felt her naked body beside him. Jac, still with her eyes closed, smiled as she felt Joe's body pressing against hers. Joe tilted up a bit and kissed the crook of her neck. Jac had to turn around and face him.

"mm, I thought last night was a dream… not that I'm complaining…" she told him, smiling, as she opened her eyes, lying on her back, in the ruffled bed sheets.

"well… fortunately, it wasn't…" Joe told her, as he kissed her lips.

"wow, it's been ages since we woke up in each other's arms…" Jac, told him, as their lips broke apart, "you know, if I could give up everything for you, I would, I really would…" she said, slowly, caressing his arm, as he lay tilted on his side, to face her.

"but, staying with Jonny doesn't feel 100% right, but neither does leaving him… and there's Amy to think about… I grew up without my parents, I can't put her through that…" she added.

"But she'll still get to see both of you, and besides she's not a little girl anymore…" Joe told her.

"I know… I honestly don't know what is the best thing to do, right now… I really can't decide what I want…" Jac said, in despair.

"Well you don't need to decide now, let's just enjoy the moment…" Joe told her slowly, as he leaned in and kissed her again. Jac didn't mind him kissing her, moving down her neck and onto her chest, until she suddenly felt the urge to…

"mm… Joe stop!" Jac pushed him over.

"What's wrong?" Joe asked, confused, as Jac got hurriedly out of bed.

"I'm going to be sick!" she called out as she ran to the bathroom, leaving Joe to hear the lovely sounds of her throwing up in the en-suite.

…

Both Jac and Joe arrived to work that same morning, in separate cabs to avoid the gossip. And obviously rumours like that were the last thing Jac needed, with her being CEO.

She walked into the staffroom to find Joseph lying against the bench, having a coffee and taking some pills.

Jac made a coffee and stood by his side, "oww my head…" Jac moaned as she held her head with both her hands. She clearly was hung over.

"Here take one of these…" Joseph handed her a pill to make her feel better and at least be in a fit state to work, "I told you, you shouldn't have drunk to much last night,"

"Oh yes… the alcohol, and not to mention, I didn't get much sleep because of a certain someone who kept me up all night…" she told him, with a smile.

"It was your idea…" Joseph told her, as he inched closer to her, and put his arms around her waist, "I don't know how I'm going to keep my hands off you all day…" he whispered in her ear.

"Move away, will you? Look I haven't decided anything yet, it's still a professional relationship between us, especially here…" she whispered back, she didn't want anyone to find out about what had happened.

They both moved away from each other, when the staffroom door opened and Jonny walked in, "oh hey Jac… how was the dinner?" he asked.

"Fine…" Jac uttered, "it was… fine…" she said, as she took one last look at Joe, then Jonny and walked away.

_**the drama is still ahead! a revelation is coming up that will shock each and every one of these characters and also you the readers so... stay tuned!**_

_**Thanks for all your lovely reviews and your feedback! keep them coming! i really appreciate it xx**_


	7. Chapter 7

6 weeks later.

"Mum… is everything okay?" Amy knocked on the bathroom door, when she heard her mum throwing up her breakfast. She heard the sound of the toilet flushing and waited for Jac to open the door.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine," Jac said, as she walked into the kitchen to get something to drink, "where's dad?" she asked Amy, as she poured herself a glass of water.

"He already left… which means I get to walk into work with you today…" Amy said, smiling, proud that her mother was CEO of the hospital.

"You know it's not ethical…" Jac replied as she got her coat and car keys.

"But mum, I can't hide the fact that I'm daughter of the CEO, everyone knows on Darwin, even that Nurse Maconie is my dad, I can't really hide it… my surname is enough to blow out the truth… and besides dad's already left so you're my only ride…" Amy explained as she put on her coat.

"Yeah, okay fine, let's go…" Jac told her daughter, to shut her up. She certainly wasn't well at all.

…

"Come in!" Jac called out after the knock on her door.

"Joseph… how can I help you?" Jac asked, as she took a moment to look at Joseph for a second, then at her notes.

"Listen, by any chance, do you have some time to spare to assist me in theatre?" he asked politely, "it's an aortic bypass graft… Ms Effanga is busy with the med students and Dr Valentine is busy with his research and a full theatre list…" he added.

"Right… I'll scrub in, I guess my paperwork can wait a bit…" Jac replied, with a smile. She wasn't going to miss an opportunity to be in theatre, she missed surgery.

…

"Hello Darwin…" Amy said as she answered the phone at the nurses' station, "right, just hold one minute please…. Ms Effanga!" she called out to Mo. Mo, standing beside a patient in bed 8, started approaching the desk.

"It's Mr Levy, from Keller…" Amy told her as she handed her the phone. Amy left Mo on the phone and made her way to the supplies' closet. She remembered Jonny had asked her to refill the supplies trolley.

She was going through stuff on the shelf, when she felt someone's hands on her body.

"Aaaaa!" she gave out a little scream when she turned around to see it was Harry, "you scared me! Harry Bryne, don't you dare sneak up on me like that again!" she told him, as she slapped him on his chest. Harry couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh come on… will this make you feel better?" he told her smiling, as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her.

"Mmm…" Amy said, as they broke apart, "a little bit…"

"you know how hard it is to hide our affections out there, with your dad around the whole time? I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…" he said in a low voice, with his arms wrapped around her.

"I know… me neither… we'll tell them, we'll tell both our parents… soon…okay?" she reassured him.

"Right… listen, meet me for a coffee later, downstairs yeah?" Harry told his girlfriend.

…

"Ms Naylor, you ready?" Joseph Byrne asked Jac in theatre, scrubbed up and ready to begin surgery.

"Yeah of course…" she told him, standing opposite him, with the patient lying in between.

"Scalpel please…" Joe ordered. He was given one, but just as soon as he opened the patient up, Jac started making a face.

"You alright?" Joe asked her as she stepped away from the table.

"No, not really… I'm not feeling very well… sorry I can't do this…." Jac said as she ran out of theatre, as quickly as she can and into the first toilet nearby.

"Right… page Ms Effanga please…" Joe asked one of the nurses, as he carried on with his work.

…

"I don't have a long break I'm afraid…" Amy told Harry, as she emerged from the lifts and meeting Harry at the ground floor café.

"it's okay… here I got you this…" Harry told her, handing her a cup of coffee, "Listen, do you want to go outside on the bench? The weather is lovely today…"

"Sure," she replied. With one hand she took hold of the coffee cup, and held Harry's hand in the other, as they both walked outside.

…

"Hey are you alright?" Joseph said, as he walked down the stairs to see Jac, standing at the bottom of the staircase, staring outside the glass windows, overlooking the carpark. Jac looked up, as soon as she heard someone talking to her.

"Yeah I'm fine… well I am now at least…I've been sick twice…after breakfast and now…" Jac said, slowly. Joe stood by her.

"Sick?" Joe asked confused, "…any idea what's causing it?" he asked, concerned.

"I don't know… could be indigestion… we did have an Indian take away last night… it could've been dodgy or something…" Jac told him.

"Right…" Joe said, slowly. He was trying to figure out what was going on. Jac didn't seem herself lately.

"Oh would you look at it!" Jac exclaimed, still looking outside. She spotted Amy and Harry sitting on the bench, hand in hand, Amy laughing at something Harry was saying. Joe looked outside as well.

"Looks like they're back on…" Joe uttered.

"How can you tell? Maybe they're just friends…" Jac commented, still her eyes on Harry and Amy.

"Jac," Joe told her, now facing her, "I'm not stupid, I know chemistry when I see it… they were made for each other… just like us…" he told her, as he placed his hand on hers. Jac looked at him for a minute, but soon slid her hand from beneath his and walked away.

Joe couldn't understand. They shared something magical, that night at the dinner, 6 weeks earlier, but afterwards Jac has been shutting him out. He understood she wasn't going to show any affections whatsoever on the ward, and if she wanted time to decide who she was going to choose, he respected her wishes and gave her the space she needed. But she acted particularly weirder than usual today, she clearly wasn't herself, something was definitely up. He tried figuring out what it could be… and then one particular thought came to his mind…

'No she can't be…' he muttered to himself.

**_More is coming your way...the drama is not over just yet! the big reveal will probably be in the next chapter or the one after... keep reading... you're in for quite a shock... Thanks for your support so far x_**


	8. Chapter 8

Jac walked into the hospital, carrying her bag, and phone, heading towards the café, meeting Joseph and Jonny both at the counter. On her own, as usual.

"Good morning, Jonny… Joseph…" she told both of them, trying to act civil, as they both turned around and saw her standing beside them. She felt awkward to her husband and …lover?

"Here I got you a coffee, so you won't have to wait in line…" Jonny told her, as he handed her the coffee cup.

"Oh," Jac made a face at the strong smell, "I'm not in the mood for coffee, although I do have a meeting this morning, I don't have much choice…" she said as she took the cup in her hands, "oh what I'd kill for one of those…" she said, pointing at the cupcakes for sale on the bench. Joseph was listening to the whole conversation, and was quite amazed that Jac was craving cupcakes.

"Really? but I haven't seen you touch a doughnut or a piece of cake since you were pregnant with Amy?!" Jonny told her, surprised, as they walked away to the lift. Joseph was shocked internally at Jonny's pregnancy mention.

"Joseph, shall I hold the lift?" Jac turned around and asked him.

"No, still waiting for my hot chocolate, I'll up soon…" Joseph told her. He let them both walk into the lift, then paid for his hot drink and sat down at a table, thinking.

'So first the nausea, now craving cupcakes...' he tried to shake the thought of Jac being pregnant out of his head, but he couldn't, with every day that passes, she was showing more signs, she could be. 'And let's say she was, how is that even possible, she must be what? 56 years old?' how is that even possible? Well technically it could be… but…' his head was spinning with thoughts…

…

"Ms Naylor, what brings you down here?" Mo asked her boss, as she met her boss in the middle of the corridor on Darwin.

"Well I finished early from my meeting, so I thought I'd come have a look at how things are going on around here…" Jac explained, as she kept walking, "how's Amy doing?"

"Great, the main desk has never been so neat…" Mo replied. But their conversation was interrupted, when they met Joseph moving quickly with the porter, with a female patient, and Jonny was walking behind him, carrying … a baby?

"Bed 8, please…" Joseph ordered, as he followed them.

"What's going on?" Jac asked, Jonny as soon as she saw him carrying the baby.

"30 year-old female, collapsed at the park… she was on her own, apparently someone called for an ambulance and left her there… we couldn't leave the baby behind…" he told her, rocking the baby girl in his hands.

"Right… go assist Joseph and try to get in touch with a relative, give me the baby, I'll handle her…" Jac offered to take care of the baby a little while.

"But aren't you busy with paperwork and other CEO stuff?" Jonny replied.

"If I was, I wouldn't be offering… and besides I'm the boss, so you do as I say… now give!" Jac snapped. Jonny didn't argue, he handed Jac the baby, and Jac took her to the consultant's office.

…

Jac walked into the office to see Oliver, seated behind his desk.

"Jac…" Oliver said as he looked up and saw Jac entered his office, and was even more confused when he saw her holding a baby, which looked like 4 months old, "I don't remember you being pregnant over night?" he said, with a smile.

"Haha, very funny… this is a patient's, I'm keeping an eye on her for a while, until a relative turns up…" she told him, as she walked up to his desk.

Oliver stood up and walked up to her, "aww she's so sweet…" he said, looking at her, but she soon started crying, "oh right, I have to check on a patient," he said as he grabbed a file off his desk and turned to leave.

"Oh now you leave me on my own?!" Jac told him, as Ollie smiled at her before he shut the door.

"Okay… shhh!" Jac told the baby girl, as she rocked her in her arms.

…

"Right, she is stable, I'll be back shortly… uh, where is her baby?" Joseph asked Jonny, as they were both by the patient's side.

"She's in your office with Jac…" Jonny told him.

"Jac… right…" Joe muttered, and made his way towards his office. The door was nearly closed, he didn't barge in, he saw something sweet going on inside. As he peeped through the door, he could notice Jac, standing rocking the baby in her arms and singing a lullaby.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird, and if that mocking bird don't sing, papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring…" Jac sang softly, trying to put the baby to sleep.

Joe stood there, smiling at Jac, singing to the baby in her arms… and it hit him again. It wasn't normal of Jac to get attached to a baby, but then again, he didn't see her raising Amy so he couldn't really say. He tried not to think about it but he couldn't forget. What if she was pregnant with his child? What would this mean for them? He imagined Jac as if it was _their _baby, she was holding in her arms. It was something beautiful in his head, but in reality, this would definitely cause chaos.

"Hey…" he began as he walked in. Jac turned around. "Shhh! She just fell asleep…" she whispered.

"any sign of a relative?" Jac asked Joe, as he walked up to her, and both looked over the sleeping baby, as if she were theirs.

"Ah yes, Jonny got in touch with her husband, he's on his way, or so he says…" Joe whispered, "you know I never thought you were the lullaby-coffee-morning-mummy type..." he added, trying not to wake the baby up.

"This was the only way to put Amy to sleep when she was a baby, it was the only lullaby I knew and she liked it," she said smiling, "and just so you know, Jonny still doesn't know about this up till this day, so if you dare mention this to anyone," Jac gave him dagger eyes, warning him.

"Ah no, you're secret's safe with me," Joe replied with a smile. Jac suddenly, noticed the time on the wall clock.

"Could you take over please? I'm supposed to be down at maternity by now…" she told Joe as she handed over the sleeping baby to him. As soon as Joe heard the word 'maternity' his head started spinning again.

Joe, now with the baby in his hands, asked Jac before she left the office, "Jac," he whispered. Jac turned around.

"Is there… anything you want to tell me?" Joseph asked in between pauses.

Jac looked confused, "No… why?"

"No reason…" Joe uttered and Jac smiled at him and left the office.

…

Later that afternoon, after Joseph dealt with that female patient, her baby and then her husband, he spared some time to think about what could be up with Jac. He couldn't take it anymore, he was getting tired thinking of what it could be. He saw he was going to get nothing out of her, so he concluded the only way to find out the truth was to go up and ask her.

As he walked the corridor heading towards her office, and was only a few paces away from her door, he looked outside for a second, and the next thing he knew he bumped into someone… who was no one other than Jac herself. All of her paperwork ended up on the floor.

"Sorry Jac, I literally didn't see you there," he told her, as they both bent down to clean up the mess. Joe helped her gather her notes, when amongst one of the documents, there was something that even made him more suspicious… a baby scan. He held it in his right hand for a second, looking at it.

"Joe?" Jac asked him, waiting for him to give her the remaining notes.

"Oh right…" Joe told her, giving her the rest, "I wanted to talk to you actually," he began.

"What about?" Jac asked him, as she opened the office door, but before both of them walked in and Joseph responded, they noticed Harry and Amy walking towards them.

"Mum, can I talk to you for a sec please?" Amy asked her mum, with Harry by her side, "and it's good you're here too Mr Byrne…" she said, facing Joseph.

"Can't it wait?" Jac told her, as she walked in, with everyone following.

"Not really… it's better if we come out and say it now," she told her mum. Jac by the sound of 'we' knew what was coming.

"You don't have to say anything, I know…" Jac cut to the chase. Joseph stood there, listening.

"What?" Amy asked confused. Harry sad nothing.

"You and Harry are back together…" Jac told her, as she sat behind the desk. Joseph was standing up in front of her, beside Harry and Amy.

"We figured it out already…" Joseph uttered.

"Mum, I didn't want to go against your wishes, but you know that feeling when you love someone enough, you just can't let go?" Amy began to explain, as she then looked at Harry during her last words.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, I know…" Jac told her daughter, and then her eyes met Joseph's, then back at Amy, "If it makes you happy, then Harry you're more than welcome," she told them both, "you find no objection, I assume Joseph?" she faced Joe.

"No, not at all…" Joe smiled at Amy.

"Thanks… phew, it feels better it's out in the open, now," Amy said, smiling.

"What did dad say?" Jac asked Amy.

"Well…" Amy uttered, "we tried telling him, but… he's still getting round to the idea…" her dad was still a bit of a problem.

"I'm sure he'll understand… we'll talk later, yeah?" Jac told Amy, and with that Amy and Harry left the office.

"So… Joseph what did you want to tell me?" Jac asked Joe, now that they were alone.

"Right…" Joe began, "are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell _me_?" he asked Jac.

Jac had a weird look on her face, "you didn't put anything in your coffee this morning, right?"

"No, Jac, you don't understand, I mean... lately you haven't been feeling very well…" Joe tried to explain without jumping to the wrong conclusions.

"Joseph, why are you so concerned about my health all of a sudden?" Jac asked, still confused.

"Because this concerns me as well…" Joe added.

"What? How? … Joseph you lost me…" Jac still couldn't figure out Joseph's point.

"I mean that is... if you could be… or if you actually are…" Joe just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"What?" Jac asked confused, as she stood up from her chair.

…

Outside her office, Jonny holding some files, walked up to her door, and just as he was about to knock, he thought twice about it. He could hear voices being raised from indoors and recognised Joseph's voice. He knew it wasn't appropriate to eavesdrop but he got intrigued to know more.

…

"I mean if you think about our night at the dinner, you know, 6 weeks ago, and put together all your symptoms, couldn't you be…?" and as Joseph explained the last bit, he held out his hand, towards her belly.

"What?" Jac said as she looked down at her belly, then at Joe again, "Pregnant?!" Jac asked surprised.

"I just can't believe you couldn't bring yourself to tell me something like this…" Joe added, standing in front of her.

"Because I don't see how it's any of your business!" Jac raised her voice at him.

"Of course it is, I have every right to know if you are pregnant with my child!" Joe yelled back.

"Okay what makes you think, I am? Based on what?" Jac wasn't going to reveal the truth just yet.

"Well the nausea and the cupcake cravings, you going down to maternity, the baby scan, what more proof do I need?" Joe yelled back.

"Okay for your information, I went down to maternity, to meet up with consultants to discuss a new project for the maternity ward, and the baby scan you found, belongs to a cardiac patient who just discovered she's pregnant… not that it's any of your business…" Jac tried to explain.

But Joe wasn't having it, "No, no, you played games like these with me once, I'm not going to let you do that to me again!"

"Hah!" Jac gave out a little giggle.

"Jac I need to know, if you are carrying my child… so just answer the bloody question… are. you. pregnant. Yes or No?!" Joseph yelled.

"That's it. What the hell's going on?!" Jonny burst into the room.

"Oh great! Have you ever heard of knocking?!" Jac told him sarcastically.

"so you did sleep together then! Who wouldn't see that coming?" Jonny muttered to himself, "you just couldn't keep your hands off my wife could you?!" Jonny grabbed Joe by his scrubs.

"Hah now you call her your wife? you only share a house, nothing else…" Joseph wasn't scared of Jonny.

And just as Jonny was going to punch Joseph across the face, Jac yelled out, "Guys stop! I'm not pregnant!" but not even that seemed to stop him. So he just had to come out and reveal the truth.

"I've got cancer!" she yelled. Jonny let go of Joseph, both men shocked at her announcement.

_**To be continued...**_


	9. Chapter 9

"Yes you heard me, I got cancer in the only kidney I have left, now both of you just get out!" she raised her voice as she walked around her desk and opened the door for them both.

"I said, get out!" Jac yelled. Both Jonny and Joseph headed towards the door. She threw both of them out and as she shut the door closed behind them, she slid against it and fell to the floor, with tears running down her face.

…

"Jac talk to me, please," Jonny begged her, as he walked into the living room, later that night, to see Jac seated on the sofa, staring into space. Amy was in the kitchen, revising. She had no idea what was going on, yet.

"Oh now you want to talk?" Jac snapped. For the last few weeks, they were living under the same roof, but weren't speaking to each other, other than talking professionally at work.

Before Jonny had time to answer her back, the doorbell rang. Jac stood up and went to see who was at the door.

"Elliot! How lovely it is to see you again!" Jac exclaimed as she welcomed him in and hugged him. Amy heard his voice and came to see if it really was Elliot in their living room.

"Grandpa!" she exclaimed, smiling as she hugged him, even though she was now eighteen and not a little girl anymore. Jac and Jonny smiled.

"Aww you still call me that…" he commented. Amy knew Elliot since she was a baby, but she got to know him more when she was like two years old, when Jac brought her into work one day because the babysitter called in sick. She spent a few hours with Elliot in the office, he even bought her sweets, and from that day on, he was 'grandpa Elliot' to her. Besides, she had no biological grandparents around, so she truly loved Elliot Hope as the only grandpa she ever knew.

"How are you doing young lady?" he asked her as they broke apart.

"Not bad thanks!" Amy replied, politely.

"I got you a present," Elliot said, as he rummaged through his bag and took out a small box and handed it to Amy.

"Aw its beautiful!" Amy exclaimed as she saw a pen in the box with USA written on it, "wait a minute, why does it say USA?" she asked him, as he sat down on the sofa.

"It's more of a souvenir," he added.

"What do you mean 'souvenir'?" Jac asked confused, "what have you been doing since you retired?" Jac was seated on one end of the sofa and Jonny in an armchair.

"Well I am now living in America, I am here on holiday in fact," Elliot began to explain, as he too sat down on the sofa, in between Amy and Jac.

"You are joking! What made you go?" Jac asked, in despair.

"You might not believe this, but… I met up with Sharon again, she sent me a letter saying she wanted to see me again…" he added.

"Sharon? Kozinski?!" Jonny asked surprised.

"the one and only…" Elliot added, with a smile, "I went up to meet her, and then after asking me to stay, I thought 'what's to lose'? my job at Holby was keeping me back, but then when I retired, I had nothing stopping me,"

"Oh… but what about us?" Amy asked, rather sad.

"I'll come visit once in a while, don't worry, you'll always be my favourite grand-daughter," he told her smiling. Amy smiled back.

"I wasn't going to come this soon, but Jonny invited me over tonight…" Elliot began.

"Right…" Jac added, looking at Jonny, "Amy can we have a word please?" she asked Amy politely to leave them alone. Amy without saying anything, left the room.

"You're lucky I was back here and not in the states… I didn't sell my house, so I'm staying here for a couple of weeks… I thought I should come over… Jac why are you doing this?" Elliot asked Jac.

"Doing what? What has he told you?" Jac snapped, giving Jonny a look.

"He told me you have cancer… you should have told someone, at least your husband, you can't shut him out…" Elliot tried telling her.

"There's nothing to tell… there's no hope, I am looking for a match donor…" Jac said slowly. Elliot was stunned at the news.

"What?! How long have you known about this?" Jonny asked, furious.

"A few weeks…" Jac replied, looking at the floor.

"Jac, don't lose hope, the least you could do, is let people who love you, be there for you, help you…" Elliot told her.

"There's nothing anyone can do, no treatment, I have the cancer and that's it…." Jac said, as she stood up, left the room and walked upstairs, without saying goodbye to Elliot.

"She's always been the type of keeping things to herself, especially when it comes to her health… but Jonny at least try showing her you are going to be there for her, no matter what happens… you've come this far, I'm sure your love is strong enough to keep you going…" Elliot said, looking at Jonny, "anyway, I think I'll stay for a couple of weeks, I will be here for you all,"

"Thanks Elliot," Jonny replied.

…

Jac was sitting on her bed, staring into space, when she heard her bedroom door open. She could see it was Amy, standing there, tears streaming down her face.

"why didn't you tell me?" she asked her mum, softly. Jac then realised Amy had overheard the whole conversation with Elliot and the truth was out.

"Come here," she told her daughter, as she patted on the bed beside her. Amy walked over and sat down beside her mum, "I didn't want you to worry about me…" Jac told her, as she wrapped her arm around Amy's shoulder.

"I don't want to lose you mum," Amy told her mother, in between unstoppable tears.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jac told her, now too crying, as she hugged Amy tight, knowing for sure, her last sentence was a lie.

"Do you want me to tuck you into bed like when you were little?" Jac offered, as they broke apart.

"Mum, I'm 18…" Amy smiled.

"Oh come on," Jac said, as they both walked out of her room and into Amy's. Amy, already in her pyjamas, climbed into bed, and Jac put her quilt over her.

"Goodnight," she told her, holding her hand tight in hers.

"Goodnight, mum," Amy replied. Jac, stood up, headed to the door, and stared at her daughter for a minute, before switching off the light and closing the door.

…

When she was back in her bedroom, she saw Jonny was in there, which was strange because she was sleeping in that room alone, for weeks. Jonny was using the spare room downstairs.

"What do you want?" Jac said, bluntly.

"Jac, why are you refusing treatment?" Jonny cut to the chase.

"There is no treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy won't work, it spread to my whole kidney…" Jac muttered as she got dressed for bed.

"and you didn't care to mention anything? So you did scans all by yourself?" Jonny added. Jac said nothing, she kept on getting dressed, faced away from Jonny.

"You should've told me… you barely showed any symptoms…." He added.

"Who said I didn't show any symptoms? And when I started showing, it was pretty much too late…" Jac said, now facing him, "my only option is a nephrectomy, which in my case, is not possible unless I find a match donor…"

Jonny could not believe this was happening, "but you should've said something Jac…" a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Why bother? I don't deserve someone like you…" Jac replied, now in tears, "over the past 20 years, I've treated you badly, and despite that, you always loved me, maybe I'm being punished… I don't deserve to live…"

"No, don't say that…" he walked up to her and held her by her shoulders, "you are going to live, you're not going to lose hope, not for me, but for Amy..."

"I'm sorry… for everything I've ever done to you, and if you don't want to forgive me, I understand…" Jac couldn't stop the tears, as she looked in his eyes.

After a pause, Jonny asked, "do you want me to sleep in here tonight?"

Jac nodded. They both climbed into bed, Jac resting her head on his chest.

"Now rest…I'm here for you now… everything's going to be okay…" he told her, as he kissed her forehead.

_**Thanks for your reviews! it was lovely to read about your reaction.. I told you the reveal was going to be big! feel free to share your thoughts about you think will happen next. More is coming...**_


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Jonny woke up early, before Jac, to make breakfast. He walked back up to the bedroom, carrying a tray with a coffee mug and toast.

"Rise and shine…" he whispered softly, as he sat down beside Jac lying in bed, with the tray in his hands.

"What is this?" Jac asked, as she saw him with the tray, and sat up in bed.

"I made you breakfast, go on," he said, handing her the tray.

"I don't need anyone's pity or anyone feeling sorry for me," Jac snapped, before she sipped some coffee. Although she quite missed the morning coffee Jonny used to make for her before they left for work.

"I'm just caring for my wife," Jonny said, as he sipped his coffee.

"Caring? You didn't give a damn about me, up till yesterday…" Jac uttered, because of the fact they weren't exactly speaking at home, so seeing him the next morning, bringing her breakfast in bed, felt quite odd.

"Jac that's not true, just because I was angry, doesn't mean I didn't care," Jonny added.

"Oh, so what's changed now? you're not angry with me anymore, because I'm going to die?" Jac said, before she took a bite of her toast.

"Don't say that! And besides… I thought instead of wasting time arguing, maybe this is like a wakeup call, to put the past behind us and be here for you…" Jonny tried to explain.

"Spare me pity," Jac snapped as she got out of bed, and opened her dresser.

"What are you doing?" Jonny asked confused, as he saw her choosing clothes.

"Getting ready for work… what does it look like I'm doing?" Jac said casually.

"Don't you think, you should be thinking about some leave and taking things a bit easier," Jonny suggested, still sitting on the bed.

"Jonny I don't have dementia, and I'm not dead yet, I'm perfectly fit to work… oww…" she uttered, as she held her side for a minute.

"What's wrong?" Jonny stood up, and ran to Jac's side.

"Nothing it's just… it's my kidney okay… just leave it?" Jac tried to move away from him but Jonny stopped her.

"Wait, wait! What's this?" he asked, something underneath her top caught his eye. He lifted it up a bit to reveal a mass bulging on her side. Jac didn't say anything. She arranged her top properly and moved away.

"How could you hide something like this?" Jonny couldn't believe Jac was getting worse by the day and didn't whisper a word to anyone.

"I didn't want to alarm anyone, stop fussing!" Jac snapped as put on her boots.

"Jac if you could just let me…" Jonny added, as Jac ignored him and walked out of the room. Jonny sighed.

…

After a whole argument in the driveway, about Jonny not letting Jac drive her own car, Jac was finally convinced to let Jonny drive all of them to work.

"Hey watch it!" Jonny snapped at Jac, who slammed his door, as she got in the front seat, and Amy got in the back.

Jonny started driving, Jac leaned against the window looking outside, no one saying anything.

"Mum, you know, I was thinking, how about I get myself tested and see if I'm a match donor?" Amy said, from the back of the car.

"What?! Who gave you that idea?!" Jac snapped, "did you tell her this?" she said, looking at Jonny.

"No! but if she wants to, I respect her decision…" Jonny uttered, his eyes on the road.

"What? No, I'm not going to let you do that…" Jac told Amy.

"Oh come on mum, it's just a test…" Amy whined.

"No!" Jac snapped.

"But mum, what if I am a match? Wouldn't it be great, that you have one of my kidneys? And it wasn't some stranger's?" Amy tried to convince her mum.

"I said no!" Jac snapped again. With Amy's words, her mind went back to the time when she gave one of her kidneys to her mum. Up till this day, she still couldn't believe what convinced her to do it. Her mother was the same woman who left her when she was twelve… so why did she do it? And look what it got her into… if she had two kidneys, she would have removed the cancerous one and she'll have the other. Jonny snapped her back to reality.

"You know Amy has a point, she could at least get tested… even I could…" Jonny added, as he parked the car in the hospital car park.

"For the millionth time, no! I'm not going to let anyone do anything for the sort!" Jac snapped as she got out of the car.

…

"Come in!" Jac called out, as she heard a knock at the door. She looked up to see Joseph and then down at her notes again. She hadn't talked to him after the big scene in her office the day before.

"I came to apologise… about yesterday…" Joseph told her, as he stood In front of her desk, "it was wrong of me to assume…. I had no idea what was really going on…" he added.

Jac stood up "there's no need for an apology," and walked around the desk, to get some notes from the meeting's table behind Joseph, and put them on her desk, but remained standing in front of Joe.

"It was a normal thing to do, to worry… but you didn't need to…" Jac added.

"Why?" Joe said slowly, as he looked at her.

"Because if I was… pregnant… with your child, I would've told you sooner…" Jac tried to explain. Silence filled the room.

"I wish I was you know…" Jac added.

"What?" Joe asked confused at Jac's words.

"I wish I was pregnant… rather than having… this cancer thing…" Jac was finding it really hard to confess. Joe was surprised at her speech. They stood in front of each other.

"I mean… having a baby with you… would be amazing… just not under these circumstances… you know, our age, us having our own families…" Jac confessed.

"Yeah yeah, of course, um…." Joseph replied awkwardly, "you know, the thought that you could've been pregnant was quite a shock for me, but deep down I realised it could've been something beautiful for you and me…."

"No, it wouldn't have… I mean, not the fact that you and I would share a child, but unfortunately it's not just us now… we're just twenty years too late…" Jac uttered.

"Right… so… what's going to happen? Are you… okay?" Joseph wasn't sure if these were the right words to use regarding her cancer.

"Well… I am on the transplant list…its stage III renal cell carcinoma…" Jac uttered.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…" Joe said slowly, as he held out his hand and placed it on her arm.

"We had our time… Jonny and Amy are here now…" she uttered, she wasn't implying Jonny and her were back together as a couple, even though their relationship improved, but at least they were back together as a family.

"I understand…" he replied, his hand still touching her.

Jac took one step forward and hugged him tight. Joe was confused, but he hugged her back. A tear rolled down Jac's cheek.

"Listen… my family is by my side now… but whatever happens, just remember you always meant so much to me, and I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to hurt you…" she said in tears, as she hugged him tighter. Still embraced in each other's arms, Joe also shed a tear. He feared this might be the last time, he ever held her in his arms.

"Ohh.." Jac exclaimed, suddenly leaning over Joseph.

"Jac?" Joe uttered, as he let go of her embrace slightly, to see she has gone pale and was about to pass out. "Jac?" She moaned in pain, holding her abdomen, "okay I got you…" he told her as he lifted her up in his arms and walked out of the office.

"Can I get some help here please?" he called out to the porter in the corridor.

**_to be continued..._**


	11. Chapter 11

"Jac… she's waking up…"

She started hearing voices and sounds so distant… and then they started appearing closer, and closer, until she opened her eyes and saw Joe staring at her on her side and Sacha on the other. She could feel Joseph's hand in hers, and squeezed it tight.

She was lying in a hospital bed, already in a gown, with nasal prongs on her face, supplying oxygen. Joseph took her to Sacha on Keller, and moved her into the side bay, to avoid gossip.

"What's happened?" Jac, asked a bit sleepily.

"You passed out…" Joe replied slowly. Jac didn't move her hand away, she looked at him and smiled. Sacha was writing in her notes on the breakfast table at the foot of her bed.

All of a sudden, Jonny ran into the room. Sacha told him the news, and came up as fast as he could. But he couldn't stand the sight of Joseph by Jac's side, and wasn't at all happy to see them holding hands.

"Do you mind? Do you actually mind?!" Jonny told Joe furiously.

"I brought her here… I wasn't going to just leave her…" Joe replied, rather calmly.

"Jac now you just rest, okay?" Sacha asked Jac, then turned to Jonny, "Can I have a word outside please?" he certainly wasn't going to discuss Jac's condition in front of her, given she would understand every single thing.

Jonny followed Sacha outside and Joseph did the same.

"I appreciate your concern, but I can take it from her, thank you," Jonny said rather sarcastically to Joseph, once they were outside the room.

"I'm not going anywhere, I feel I have to be here, given I was there the first time when she removed one of her kidney, I know her Jonny, as much as you do, of not more quite frankly…" Joseph didn't drop the argument.

"Okay boys, we all care about Jac here, this is for her best interest… now are you going to listen to me or not?" Sacha snapped. Both Joe and Jonny didn't say a word.

"I'm not going to sugar coat it, the reality is her kidney is failing, it's only a matter of time before her whole body shuts down…" Sacha explained.

"So what can we do to help?" Joe asked.

"Well she's been on the transplant list for weeks, but we still haven't found a match donor, you had plenty of time, did getting you or Amy tested cross your mind?" Sacha turned to Jonny.

"What? You've known for weeks? And didn't say anything? I've only found out yesterday!" Jonny said furiously.

"Right.. I'm sorry… I couldn't say, when she opened up to me, she came to me as a patient and not as a friend.." Sacha added.

"and besides, Amy and I tried to talk to her about it, but she doesn't want her or me to go through with it," Jonny explained.

"she doesn't have much options, the tumour is massive, we would've removed it sooner, but it's the only kidney she's got, she can't live without it, without a transplant," Sacha tried to explain further.

"Yes we know… can I get tested?" Joseph asked. Jonny rolled his eyes at his offer. The thought of Jac having one of his kidneys freaked him out. But he was willing to allow anything to save his wife.

"Well it's your choice, but given you're not related, the chance that you're a match is not so high, and even you Jonny for that matter…" Sacha added.

"I know... but we can always try and I'll ask Amy too…" Jonny added.

"Try that, and still, Amy is her daughter, but it doesn't mean she'll definitely be a match… plus results might be a while, but I'll try to chase them up, I've got some friends at the lab… then again I don't really want to go against Jac's wishes if that's what she told you…" Sacha explained.

"But you said it, she doesn't have a choice!" Jonny lost it with Sacha.

"Dad, what's going on? Is mum okay?" Amy rushed up to Jonny, Sacha and Joseph outside the side bay.

Amy pushed passed them and walked into the room, with Jonny and Sacha following. Joseph stood outside looking through the glass of the closed door from outside.

"Mum!" Amy cried as she sat down beside her mum, and held her hand.

"Amy!" Jac smiled as soon as she saw her daughter by her side.

Jonny remembered what Sacha said about going against Jac's wishes, so he decided to tell Jac what's going on, he had to.

"Jac, Amy and I are going to get tested to see if we're match donors, please Jac let us help you…" Jonny pleaded.

Jac knows what the process is, and didn't want them to do it, and besides the test results would take a lot of time to come.

"No, listen Amy come here," she told her daughter, as she held her hand and looked her in the eye, "I don't need the kidney, I'm going to lose consciousness soon, I won't be here to protect you anymore, but you'll be fine, because you are my baby," Jac told her daughter in between deep breaths. Amy burst into tears as she listened to her mum.

_Play Ombre by Ludovico Einaudi here, for more intense effect_

"You are a beautiful, bright girl, and you will be a strong independent, young woman one day… you will be a brilliant nurse, just like dad… and you and Harry... you make a beautiful couple… and one day you'll get married and have lots of babies, and you'll make a wonderful mother, better than I was," she said, before a cough.

"No mum, don't say that, you're the most amazing mum anyone could ever ask for," Amy told her mum, as she squeezed her and in hers. They were both in tears.

Sacha and Jonny stood by, listening and watching. Jonny couldn't help a tear roll down her face.

"and remember even though you'll be on your own, you'll always have me around," Jac added, as she left Amy's hand for a second and reached out for her bedside table, and handed her a silver locket, that same locket Elliot Hope had given her when Amy was born. She handed it to Amy and placed it in her hand. Amy opened the locket.

"You remember this right?" Jac had shown it to her, when she got older, "the chain belonged to grandpa Elliot's grandmother, the locket to his mother, and inside is your baby hair… and now you got a piece of my hair in it too…" Amy smiled, when she saw to pieces of ginger hair lying in the locket, almost identical.

"Wherever you go, you'll always have me with you," Jac told her daughter. Amy couldn't hold back the tears, she didn't let go of her mum's hand, with the locket in her other.

"Mummy loves you… and tell Daddy… I…. love…. Him…" she said in between pauses, until she took her final breath, and the machine beeped one constant tedious sound.

Sacha couldn't help shed a tear, and Jonny's eyes were swollen, trying to keep the tears back.

"Mum! Mum! wake up, Mum!" Amy cried as she shook her hand.

Sacha walked over and touched her neck to test her pulse. He nodded at Jonny, implying she was gone, and switched off the machine.

"I am so sorry… time of death… 13.25" Sacha said slowly.

"Noooooooo!" Amy cried as she leaped onto her mother's dead body and cried her eyes out. Jonny walked up to her, and tried to move her away. Amy then fell crying into her dad's arms, as Jonny cried with her, watching Sacha remove all the pipes and stuff that was attached to Jac's body.

Joseph, who was witnessing the whole thing from outside, stepped away, in tears. He felt like he had been stabbed in the heart by a dagger. He couldn't believe the love of his life had just passed away.

…

A few days later.

Jonny put on his suit and black tie and looked at himself in the mirror. He was a wreck, but he tried to pull himself together. He walked down stairs, to see Amy was waiting for him. She was wearing a plain black dress.

Jonny noticed Jac's beige coat hanging on the coat hanger by the door, and Jonny couldn't help but break down into tears.

"Come on dad, it's time to go… we have to say goodbye…" Amy told her dad, as she hugged him. She tried not to cry… and together they left the house.

…

Present at the burial, were all their friends from the hospital… Sacha, Oliver, Mo, Mr T, Elliot, even Harry and Joseph. Amy couldn't help crying during the vicar's words, as the coffin descended into the depths of the earth. Harry comforted her. Joseph and Jonny stood at opposite ends.

Soon it was over and everyone left, leaving only Jonny, Amy, Harry and Joseph, by her grave. Jonny approached Joseph and held out his hand.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted, over these past few weeks…" he began.

"There is no need…" Joe added.

"I just wanted to say, if Harry makes Amy happy, then I'm happy too…" Jonny said slowly.

"Thank you Jonny…" Joseph said as he held out his hand to meet Jonny's and they shook hands. Harry and Amy smiled.

Jonny walked away with Harry and Amy, leaving only Joseph by Jac's grave… and all the tears, he held back throughout the funeral, now started rolling down his face.

"I love you, I always have and I always will… Good bye my love…" he said, as he placed a white rose upon her tombstone which read:

_Jacqueline Naylor Maconie_

_Beloved Wife and Mother_

**_THE END_**

**_Everyone got their second chance... except for Jac._**

**Sadly, this fic came to an end. Thanks to everyone who read it and left reviews, and who supports me and my writing. I would write if it weren't for you guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support. Thank you so much. You are amazing X**


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